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Discover investment opportunities at Lebanon’s international forum

Held under the patronage of the President of the Council of Ministers, H.E. Mr. Saad Hariri, the CWC Lebanon International Investment Forum is the official meeting place driving forward economic development in Lebanon.

The Summit is the dedicated platform for industry executives to meet with Ministry delegations to identify investment and new project opportunities in the oil & gas, infrastructure and power sectors; a unique opportunity to get ahead of your competitors, build new partnerships, do deals and hear about the future plans for the expansion of the Lebanese economy.

Interview with H.E. Mr. Raed Khoury Minister of Economy and Trade

CWC: In your opinion, will the Lebanon International Investment Forum have an impact on attracting the investors and boosting the Lebanese economy?

Minister: The Lebanon International Investment Forum will have a positive impact on attracting investors and boosting the Lebanese economy. It is indeed the first forum dedicated to investments and to putting the human and financial resources at the service of the production sectors in the Lebanese economy, especially if the promising sectors able to attract investments are brought out. As participants to this forum, we bear the huge responsibility as ministries and private sector to highlight the real and productive components of the Lebanese economy and to make sure that Lebanon becomes a safe haven for local and global investments.

Hear from decision makers on project announcements

H.E. Mr. Jamal El Jarrah

Minister of Telecommunication

Republic of Lebanon

H.E. Minister Jamal Jarrah was born on 1956 in Al Marj, West Bekaa region. He spent five years as a Financial and Administrative manager in an electric company in Jordan. He then moved to Bankmed and became a branch manager for Jeb Jennine. Later, H.E. Jamal Jarrah was assigned as the regional manager of Bankmed for all Bekaa region. He was elected as a member of Parliament for West Bekaa in 2005 and 2009. In late 2016, H.E. Minister Jamal Jarrah has been appointed the Minister of Telecommunications in Lebanon.

H.E. Mr. Youssef Fenianos

H.E. Mr. Cesar Abi Khalil

Minister of Energy & Water

Republic of Lebanon

H.E. Cesar Abi Khalil, serves as Minister of Energy and Water, in the Government of Lebanon since December 2016. In parallel to heading the Energy & Water sector, Abi Khalil serves as a member in a number of ministerial committees.

Prior to taking the office of Minster, Abi Khalil served in the role of Advisor to the Minister of Energy and Water as well as Advisor to the Minister of foreign Affairs starting in 2009. In his role as adviser to the Minister of Energy and Water, Abi Khalil played an instrumental role in setting the strategy as well as legal and operation frameworks for the sector.

Prior to joining public service, Cesar Abi Khalil, led the life of a political activists, joining the Free Patriotic Movement in 1989 and quickly rising through the ranks to his current position. He ran for Parliamentary elections as a representative of the Free Patriotic Movement in 2009.

In parallel to his public activism, Abi Khalil’s private industry endeavours included the role of founder and director of Fundamentals S.A.L, a real estate construction company with development projects spanning Lebanon and Iraq.

Abi Khalil holds a master of civil engineering degree from St Joseph University of Beirut

H.E. Mr. Raed Khoury

Minister of Economy and Trade

Republic of Lebanon

Born in Choueifat in 1975. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), he holds a Bachelor degree in Economics and a Masters degree in Money and Banking from the American University of Beirut (AUB).
He held the post of Minister of Economy & Trade in the government of Lebanon formed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri since December 18th, 2016. During his term he established the appropriate frameworks to set up a comprehensive economic plan for Lebanon that clearly defines Lebanon’s economic identity for the upcoming years, enhances the productive sectors in Lebanon, insures sustainable development in all Lebanese regions , and consequently diversifies and increases the size of the economy. At the beginning of 2018, the Government launched the work on the economic plan in order to achieve the set goals and objectives.
Minister Khoury enjoys an extensive and diversified banking and financial experience with a focus on Wealth Management, Investment Banking Services and Brokerage. Minister Khoury is one of the Founders of Cedrus Invest Bank and Cedrus Bank sal.
As a former director at Barclays Wealth, he was in charge of a team of Bankers covering the MENA and Gulf regions. He spent more than 7 years at Bank Audi Group where he held managerial positions in banking services covering Lebanon, Switzerland and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He is married to Carole Abi Habib and has two children: Ray and Karen.

Mr. Mohamed ChoucairChairmanChamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture, of Beirut and Mount Lebanon

Mr. Mohamed Choucair

Chairman

Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture, of Beirut and Mount Lebanon

Mohamed Choucair is born in Beirut in 1968 in a family engaged in manufacturing and trade. He is married to Mrs. Amna Kabbani and they have four children. His father, Nizar Choucair had focused his activity, at that time, in the manufacturing and sale of high brand chocolate and related items as silver plates and gift articles. The brand Patchi is, nowadays, internationally known and is developing business in 35 countries through 225 outlets.

During the Lebanese war the family moved to Paris, where he continued his secondary and university studies, and stayed until the end of the war in 1990. Mohamed was graduated in International Business Studies, and joined the family business in Beirut and abroad. He was in charge at start of the American and Canadian operations, then he took the responsibility of the factories and outlets established during the war in Saudi Arabia, which were at that time the major assets of the Company.

Mohamed Choucair held various positions in the family business, to fill very quickly the CEO and Vice President of the mother company, with executive responsibilities in the subsidiaries abroad. He has launched, in parallel, several industrial projects and invested in real estate companies. Mohamed Choucair is currently President of “Echtab Holding” and “Ekar Estate Capital” and Board Member of “Benchmark”

He assumed responsibilities in several professional associations and contributed to the foundation of some of them, for which he felt the necessity. He started to enroll in ‘Young Arab Leaders’; he contributed to the foundation of ‘Bader’, an association that helps young entrepreneurs to start business, where he was Board Member; between 2005 and 2011 he was Board Member of ICC-Lebanon; between 2005 and 2010 he was Board Member of the ‘Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut & Mount Lebanon’-CCIA-BML; during the same period, from the 30th of June 2005 till the 27th of May 2009, he was appointed Honorary Consul of the Republic of San Marino; in 2006 he contributed to the foundation of the ‘Lebanese Franchise Association’ and was elected as Vice President till 2010.

In 2010, Mohamed Choucair was elected Chairman of the ‘Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut & Mount Lebanon’; and in 2010, Chairman of the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Lebanon; and in April 2012, he became Chairman of the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Mediterranean – ASCAME – based in Barcelona and grouped 220 chambers in the Mediterranean. In May 2013, he was elected Vice President of the Economic Cooperation for the Mediterranean and Middle East – OCEMO – In March 2014, he was elected Vice President of the General Union of the Chambers of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture of the Arab Countries – GUCCIAAC. In 2015, he was elected Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce Franco-Lebanese. On the 23rd of November 2016, He was appointed the Honorary Consul of the Republic of FIJI. Now he is member in the advisory Board in Beirut Arab University faculty of Business Administration and member in the advisory Board for the faculty of business and management of the Balamand University. He is also Bureau member of the Economic and Social council in Lebanon. In January 2018, he is appointed Chairman of the Lebanese Economic Organizations.

On the 9th of May 2012, he was named “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite” by the President of the French Republic H. E. Mr. François Hollande. On the 27th of December 2013, he received the “Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Grade Officer”, granted by the President of the Republic of Italy,H.E. Mr. Georgio Napolitano. On the 26th of May 2014, he was honored by the Lebanese “Order of Merit” granted by the President of the Republic H.E. General Michel Sleiman. On the 6th of October 2014 he was granted the “Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation” by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Russia. On the 6th of December 2016, he was decorated of the Spanish Order of Civil Merit-Cross Officer, granted by His Majesty Philippe VI King of Spain.

Mohamed Choucair has regular interventions on TV and other media on the economic situation in the country and in the Mediterranean.

Mr. Nabil El Jisr

Read the exclusive interview with Mr. Ziad Hayek

Download the exclusive interview with Mr. Ziad Hayek, Secretary General, High Council for Privatization and PPP about the latest government reforms and opportunities for investment in Lebanon.

“The PPP Law, enacted by Parliament this past summer, has established a clear framework for the tendering of PPP projects and defined the roles of the various public sector entities. It has set out procedures that ensure transparency, such as consultation with stakeholders and pre-qualified bidders, including the PPP contract in the tender document, and evaluating performance on the basis of quantifiable KPIs…”